Buried Secrets
by NKol00
Summary: My take on an episode (Danny and Steve slash) involves a late night with a storm and no sleep. Takes place during season 4 episode 15, title comes from the episode title. I do not owe any of the characters.


Rain crashed down upon the roof, echoing throughout the dark and empty house. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, the wind had already caused one of the lawn chairs to slam into the house, awaking Steve. His training kicked in, automatically he reached for his gun, assuming that someone was trying to break in. After cautiously checking the entire house, he noticed the bright blue chair up against the side of the house. Deciding it was better to grab the chairs then wait for them to smash into the window, Steve went outside to bring in the soaking wet chairs.

After drying up Steve went back upstairs to his bedroom, hoping to catch a few more hours of sleep. However, he couldn't stop thinking about Grover and the mystery behind his move to Hawaii from Chicago. Earlier in the day Steve had been questioned by a reporter who was threatening to expose Grover, in addition this reporter wanted him to go on record about Grover. Steve didn't feel comfortable speaking about Grover, especially when this reporter clearly had malicious intent for this story. The sound of wet tires on the gravel interrupted Steve's thoughts. He raced to the window, wondering who this early morning guest was, and if they were a welcomed guest. Quickly he eliminated Katherine as the driver, for she was on day two of a ten-day Navy Reserve training. Looking out he saw the familiar headlights of the black Camaro go out, Steve then ran downstairs to open the door to his partner, who looked quite stressed.

"Hey, you alright?" Steve questioned Danny, remembering that Danny's mother was in town. Danny didn't answer, instead he made his way to the fridge and pulled out two beers, handing one to Steve as he planted himself on the couch. He took a swing of the beer before placing it down and resting his head on his hands. Steve placed his unopened beer on the table and sat down beside Danny, giving the man some space but close enough for Danny to know he was there for him.

"You know man we could've had this beer at a more decent time," Steve joked, hoping to get so much as a smile from Danny. To his delight, Danny perked up a little and smiled.

"Oh okay, next time I'm having a crisis, I'll be sure to time it more appropriately," Danny joked back, though there was a hidden seriousness to his words. Danny sighed before reaching for his beer, he took another swing and paused. Earlier in the day Steve had been there as a sort of moral support for him when he picked up his mother who he hadn't seen in over four years at the airport. But since then he hadn't talked to Steve, well other than when he began to stress about his mother in Steve's office and it became battle of the mom stories. Anyway he hadn't really talked to Steve, and he wondered what was causing him to have a sleepless night as well. He knew the Navy Seal had a weird sleeping schedule, waking up at the butt crack of dawn and all, but two a.m. seemed to be pushing it.

"This whole divorce thing…" Danny began before trailing off.

"Danny I know. Your parents have always been your rock; they've been that since you were little. But this is something your mom is adamant about, and from the singing you were describing earlier it seems like she's happier now," Steve said.

"Oh so now you acknowledge my mom's singing huh?" Danny pressed, with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, did I say singing I meant something else," Steve countered with a smile, causing Danny to laugh. Danny drove him insane, but the good kind of insane. The kind where he couldn't stop thinking about him, and the sight of him happy made Steve happy.

"I'm sure that's exactly what you meant, you know I was right about her singing. Reading people is kind of my job, and occasionally I'm pretty good at it," Danny joked. After spending only a few minutes with Steve he was already feeling better and less stressed. At home all he could think about where his parents, and how Grace must have felt when he and Rachael had broken the news of their divorce to her. Before coming to Steve's, he had sat down with Grace and talked to her about how hard it must have been for her, and she responded saying that she knew it was hard for him too, because she had overheard him crying that night in Jersey. Hearing those words from his daughter had caused him to want to break down and cry yet again, but he put up a front and hugged her goodnight. But he couldn't sleep and decided to go for a night drive to clear his head, not long after he ended up in Steve's driveway, autopilot seems to have gotten him there. For a reason that Danny couldn't understand, Steve was his safe place on the island, whenever things didn't make sense Steve made sense out of them, which is why he was there now at two a.m.

In response to Danny's joke, Steve was baffled at first. For one thing he had never questioned Danny's ability to do his job, which is why he made the man his partner quickly after meeting him. But Steve quickly regained his composure, and poked fun at Danny's driving capabilities, which clearly slacked in comparison to his own. Both men began to laugh again and slowly they moved closer to one another.

"So what has got you up this early? Because clearly you aren't doing some crazy Seal drill in the ocean right now," asked Danny. Steve's laughter receded and his face grew grim.

"Look you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…" Danny stated, concern radiated within his voice. He didn't want to push Steve, but he still wondered if what was bothering Steve had anything to do with Grover, the two had been spending a lot of time together, and Danny still didn't trust the man. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the man had filed a formal complaint with the governor, against Steve soon after meeting him, or maybe it had something to do with why he mysteriously relocated to Hawaii from Chicago.

"No Danny, I do, it's just hard to talk about… Earlier there was a reporter just beating the bush trying to find some dirt on Grover to include in his stupid story. And to make a long story short it ended with Grover in tears explaining the case that caused him to move to Hawaii, which involved a little boy and a bad hostage situation. I mean, all in all Grover made a decision and things went wrong, but at the end of the day Grover said to me one day you'll tell me what brought you back home… and now I just can't stop thinking about that day… about my father… about meeting you…" Towards the end Steve's voice was just a whisper, but Danny heard it clear as day, and he especially felt Steve's body come closer.

"Steven…" Danny was interrupted by Steve's lips. His lips were soft and delicate, kissing passionately and slowly. Abruptly Steve pulled away and rushed off the couch. Within the time it took for Danny to blink, Steve was already across the room balancing himself up against the wall. Steve was quiet and his face was flushed, both men were still processing what had just occurred. And this was one of the rare occasions in which Danny saw Steve's other side, the side that wasn't influenced by the Navy. Slowly Danny rose from his spot on the couch, and moved toward Steve.

"Don't… Danny that was unprofessional, I shouldn't have kis…"

"Steven…"

"No Danny I'm sor…"

"Steven, if you would just let me finish a sentence for once. Don't apologize, there's nothing to apologize for. Now back to what I was saying before you aggressively yet subtly assaulted my lips with yours. I'm always thinking about you…" Danny said this as he moved closer and closer to Steve, and as he finished his lips were back on Steve's. This time Danny took control, pinning Steve up against the wall as he kissed him. Steve then regained control and lead Danny upstairs, their clothes littered the path to the bedroom.


End file.
